US9060126B2 - Solid-state image sensing apparatus - Google Patents

Solid-state image sensing apparatus Download PDF

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US9060126B2
US9060126B2 US10/934,886 US93488604A US9060126B2 US 9060126 B2 US9060126 B2 US 9060126B2 US 93488604 A US93488604 A US 93488604A US 9060126 B2 US9060126 B2 US 9060126B2
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data
speed clock
output
clock signal
format
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US20050062864A1 (en
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Keiji Mabuchi
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Sony Corp
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Sony Corp
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Priority to US14/705,783 priority patent/US9648264B2/en
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    • H04N5/23241—
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N25/00—Circuitry of solid-state image sensors [SSIS]; Control thereof
    • H04N25/70—SSIS architectures; Circuits associated therewith
    • H04N25/71—Charge-coupled device [CCD] sensors; Charge-transfer registers specially adapted for CCD sensors
    • H04N25/745—Circuitry for generating timing or clock signals
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N25/00—Circuitry of solid-state image sensors [SSIS]; Control thereof
    • H04N25/70—SSIS architectures; Circuits associated therewith
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N25/00—Circuitry of solid-state image sensors [SSIS]; Control thereof
    • H04N25/70—SSIS architectures; Circuits associated therewith
    • H04N25/71—Charge-coupled device [CCD] sensors; Charge-transfer registers specially adapted for CCD sensors
    • H04N25/75—Circuitry for providing, modifying or processing image signals from the pixel array
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N25/00—Circuitry of solid-state image sensors [SSIS]; Control thereof
    • H04N25/70—SSIS architectures; Circuits associated therewith
    • H04N25/76—Addressed sensors, e.g. MOS or CMOS sensors
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N25/00—Circuitry of solid-state image sensors [SSIS]; Control thereof
    • H04N25/70—SSIS architectures; Circuits associated therewith
    • H04N25/76—Addressed sensors, e.g. MOS or CMOS sensors
    • H04N25/77—Pixel circuitry, e.g. memories, A/D converters, pixel amplifiers, shared circuits or shared components
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N25/00—Circuitry of solid-state image sensors [SSIS]; Control thereof
    • H04N25/70—SSIS architectures; Circuits associated therewith
    • H04N25/76—Addressed sensors, e.g. MOS or CMOS sensors
    • H04N25/7795—Circuitry for generating timing or clock signals
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N25/00—Circuitry of solid-state image sensors [SSIS]; Control thereof
    • H04N25/70—SSIS architectures; Circuits associated therewith
    • H04N25/76—Addressed sensors, e.g. MOS or CMOS sensors
    • H04N25/78—Readout circuits for addressed sensors, e.g. output amplifiers or A/D converters
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N3/00—Scanning details of television systems; Combination thereof with generation of supply voltages
    • H04N3/10—Scanning details of television systems; Combination thereof with generation of supply voltages by means not exclusively optical-mechanical
    • H04N3/14—Scanning details of television systems; Combination thereof with generation of supply voltages by means not exclusively optical-mechanical by means of electrically scanned solid-state devices
    • H04N3/15—Scanning details of television systems; Combination thereof with generation of supply voltages by means not exclusively optical-mechanical by means of electrically scanned solid-state devices for picture signal generation
    • H04N3/155—Control of the image-sensor operation, e.g. image processing within the image-sensor
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N25/00—Circuitry of solid-state image sensors [SSIS]; Control thereof
    • H04N25/70—SSIS architectures; Circuits associated therewith
    • H04N25/76—Addressed sensors, e.g. MOS or CMOS sensors
    • H04N25/779—Circuitry for scanning or addressing the pixel array

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a solid-state image sensing apparatus in which a plurality of unit pixels are arranged, and a signal from each unit pixel can be arbitrarily selected and read out by address control.
  • an amplified solid-state image sensing device also called APS; active pixel sensor/gain cell
  • pixels are composed using active devices having a MOS structure, etc. (MOS transistors) in order to have an amplification function in pixels themselves.
  • MOS transistors MOS transistors
  • signal electric charge stored in a photodiode which is a photoelectric transfer device, is amplified by the active device, and is read out as image information.
  • an X-Y addressing-type solid-state image sensing device for example, a large number of pixel transistors are arranged in a two-dimensional matrix to constitute a pixel area. Storage of signal electric charge corresponding to incident light is started for each line (row) or for each pixel. The signal of electric current or voltage based on the stored signal electric charge is read out in sequence from each pixel by addressing (for example, refer to Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication Nos. 11-239299, 2001-069408, 2001-298748 and 2003-031785). For example, in a VGA format of 300 thousand pixels, 30 pieces of images are output per one second, which appears smooth animation to human eyes at an output rate of 12 MHz.
  • images are output at 30 pieces/second using, for example, an image sensing device having ultra-many pixels.
  • images are output at 30 pieces/second from a solid-state image sensing apparatus having 3 million pixels or 30 million pixels.
  • high time resolution such as in the case of a car collision experiment or monitoring an impact moment of a ball hit by a baseball batter, it is necessary to output 100 to 10 thousand pieces of images per one second.
  • the number of output terminals becomes large, and thus various problems arise.
  • the area of the solid-state image sensing apparatus becomes large (increases cost)
  • the ICs in the next stage becomes large by the increase of input terminals
  • the implementation becomes difficult
  • miniaturization of the camera becomes difficult
  • the synchronization of so many output terminals is difficult
  • the outputting at a high clock rate is difficult due to the difficulty of synchronization.
  • an increase in read-out speed is considered.
  • the operation becomes 120 MHz or 1.2 GHz, individually.
  • a high time resolution is required, for example, in the case of outputting 1,000 to 10,000 pieces of images, increasing the read-out speed is effective.
  • the present invention has been made in view of the circumstances described above. It is an object of the present invention to provide a solid-state image sensing device which solves at least one of the problems, that is to say, an increase in power consumption, noises, and unnecessary radiation, and which can achieve higher-speed output.
  • a solid-state image sensing device includes: a pixel area which has an electric-charge generation part for generating signal electric charge, and outputs an analog pixel signal corresponding to the signal electric charge generated by the electric-charge generation part; an AD-conversion part which converts the pixel signal output from the pixel area into pixel data, which is digital data; a high-speed clock generation part which generates a high-speed clock signal, which is a pulse signal having a higher frequency than a basic clock signal that is a basic pulse signal corresponding to a driving pulse signal for driving the pixel area; and a data-output part which externally outputs a predetermined output data based on the pixel data that is converted into digital data by the AD-conversion part in accordance with the high-speed clock signal generated by the high-speed clock generation part.
  • a solid-state image sensing device includes: a pixel area which includes an electric-charge generation part for generating electric charge in accordance with incident light; and an AD-conversion part which converts an analog signal sent from the pixel area into a digital signal, wherein the pixel area is driven in accordance with a first clock signal, and the digital signal from the AD-conversion part is output in accordance with a second clock signal having a higher frequency than that of the first clock signal.
  • a camera includes: a pixel area which has an electric-charge generation part for generating electric charge in accordance with incident light; an AD-conversion part which converts an analog signal sent from the pixel area into a digital signal; and an optical system for leading incident light into the pixel area, wherein the pixel area is driven in accordance with a first clock signal, and the digital signal from the AD-conversion part is output in accordance with a second clock signal having a higher frequency than that of the first clock signal.
  • FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a CMOS solid-state image sensing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention
  • FIGS. 2A and 2B are explanatory diagrams illustrating examples of device disposition patterns of a clock-conversion part and an output circuit
  • FIGS. 3A , 3 B, and 3 C are timing charts illustrating examples of data output methods
  • FIG. 4 is a circuit block diagram illustrating a variation of a first example structure of the output circuit
  • FIG. 5 is a timing chart illustrating the data output method in the variation of the first example
  • FIG. 6 is a circuit block diagram illustrating a second example structure of the output circuit
  • FIG. 7 is a circuit block diagram illustrating a variation of the output circuit of the second example
  • FIGS. 8A and 8B are explanatory diagrams for the improvement effects of unnecessary radiation of the output circuit of the second example
  • FIG. 9 is a circuit block diagram illustrating a third example structure of the output circuit.
  • FIG. 10 is a circuit block diagram illustrating a variation of the output circuit of the third example.
  • FIG. 11 is a timing chart illustrating a data output method in the third example and the variation thereof.
  • FIG. 12 is a circuit block diagram illustrating a combination example structure of the example structures of the second and the third output circuits
  • FIG. 13 is a circuit block diagram illustrating another combination example structure of the example structures of the second and the third output circuits
  • FIGS. 14A and 14B are circuit block diagrams illustrating a fourth example structure of the output circuit
  • FIG. 15 is a circuit block diagram illustrating a variation of the fifth example structure of the output circuit
  • FIG. 16 is a circuit block diagram illustrating an example structure of a strobe-signal generation part used in the fifth example
  • FIG. 17 is a timing chart illustrating a data-output method in the fifth example.
  • FIG. 18 is a circuit block diagram illustrating a sixth example structure of the output circuit
  • FIG. 19 is a timing chart illustrating a data-output method in the sixth example.
  • FIG. 20 is a schematic diagram illustrating the structure of a solid-state image sensing device (modular type) or a camera according to an embodiment of the present invention.
  • CMOS image sensing device which is an example of a solid-state image sensing apparatus of an X-Y addressing type. Also, a description will be given assuming that a CMOS image sensing device consists of all NMOS pixels.
  • FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a CMOS solid-state image sensing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
  • FIGS. 2A and 2B are explanatory diagrams illustrating examples of device disposition patterns of a clock-conversion part and an output circuit.
  • FIGS. 3A , 3 B, and 3 C are timing charts illustrating examples of data output methods.
  • a solid-state image sensing apparatus 1 is constituted so as to be applied to an electronic still camera capable of picking up color images. For example, in a still-image pickup mode, a mode for reading out all the pixels in sequence is set.
  • the solid-state image sensing apparatus 1 has a pixel area in which a plurality of pixels including a light receiving element (an example of an electric charge generation part) for outputting a signal in accordance with incident light amount are arranged in rows and columns (that is to say, in a two-dimensional matrix).
  • the solid-state image sensing apparatus 1 is of a column type, in which a signal output from each pixel is a voltage signal, and a CDS (correlated double sampling) processing part and a digital conversion part are disposed for each column.
  • the solid-state image sensing apparatus 1 includes a pixel area (image sensing part) 10 in which a plurality of unit pixels 3 are arranged in rows and columns, a drive control part 7 disposed at the outside of the pixel area 10 , and a column processing part 26 .
  • the drive control part 7 includes, for example, a horizontal scanning circuit 12 , a vertical scanning circuit 14 , a communication/timing generation part 20 , and a clock-conversion part 21 , which is an example of high-speed clock generation part and generates a pulse signal having a higher clock frequency than the frequency of an input clock signal.
  • each component of the drive control part 7 is integrally formed with the pixel area 10 in a semiconductor area of a monocrystal silicon, or the like, using the same technique as a semiconductor integrated circuit production technique, and is constituted as a solid-state image sensing device (image pickup device), which is an example of a semiconductor system.
  • the unit pixel 3 is connected to a vertical scanning circuit 14 for selecting a vertical column through a vertical control line 15 , and a column processing part 26 , in which column AD circuits are disposed for each column, through a vertical signal line 19 , respectively.
  • the vertical control line 15 indicates overall wiring lines from the vertical scanning circuit 14 to the pixel.
  • the horizontal scanning circuit 12 and the vertical scanning circuit 14 include a decoder, respectively, as described below, and start shifting operation (scanning) in response to driving pulses given from the communication/timing generation part 20 . Therefore, vertical control line 15 includes various pulse signals (for example, a reset pulse RST, a transfer pulse TRF, and a DRN control pulse DRN) for driving the unit pixel 3 .
  • pulse signals for example, a reset pulse RST, a transfer pulse TRF, and a DRN control pulse DRN
  • the communication/timing generation part 20 includes a function block of a timing generator TG (an example of a read-address controller) which supplies clock signals and predetermined timing pulse signals necessary for the operation of each part, and a function block of a communication interface which receives an input clock signal and command data for operation modes, etc., and outputs data including information of the solid-state image sensing apparatus 1 .
  • a horizontal address signal is supplied to a horizontal decoder 12 a
  • a vertical address signal is supplied to a vertical decoder 14 a
  • each of the decoders 12 a and 14 a receives the signal to select the corresponding row or column.
  • a clock CLK 1 having the same frequency as an input clock signal (master clock) CLK 0 input though a terminal 5 a , a clock signal having a frequency half the frequency of the input clock signal, a low-speed clock signal having a further divided frequency are supplied to each part in the device, for example, the horizontal scanning circuit 12 , the vertical scanning circuit 14 , the column processing part 26 , or a front stage side, that is to say, the side other than the signal processing system near the output terminal 5 c of the output circuit 28 .
  • a clock signal having a frequency divided by two, and a clock signals having a frequency further divided are all put together to be called a low-speed clock CLK 2 .
  • the vertical scanning circuit 14 selects a row of the pixel area, and supplies a necessary pulse signal to the row.
  • the vertical scanning circuit 14 has the vertical decoder 14 a for specifying (selecting a row of the pixel area 10 ) a reading row in a vertical direction, and a vertical drive circuit 14 b for supplying a pulse signal to a control line for the unit pixel 3 on the reading address (row direction) specified by the vertical decoder 14 a for driving.
  • the vertical decoder 14 a selects a row for an electronic shutter in addition to a row for reading out a signal.
  • the horizontal scanning circuit 12 selects a column AD circuit of the column processing part 26 in synchronism with the low-speed clock in sequence, and leads the signal to the horizontal signal line 18 .
  • the horizontal scanning circuit 12 has the horizontal decoder 12 a for specifying (selecting an individual column circuit in the column processing part 26 ) a reading column in a horizontal direction, and a horizontal drive circuit 12 b for leading each signal of the column processing part 26 to a horizontal signal line 18 in accordance with the reading address specified by the horizontal decoder 12 a .
  • the clock-conversion part 21 contains a multiplication circuit which generates a pulse signal having a higher speed clock frequency than the input clock frequency.
  • the clock-conversion part 21 receives a low-speed clock signal CLK 2 from the communication/timing generation part 20 , and generates a clock signal having a frequency two times or more the frequency based on that signal.
  • all the clock signals having a frequency two times or more the frequency of the low-speed clock CLK 2 are called a high-speed clock signal.
  • the signal is called a high-speed clock signal CLK 3 by adding a reference code CLK 3 .
  • the clock-conversion part 21 supplies a low-speed clock CLK 2 received from the communication/timing generation part 20 , and the high-speed clock signal CLK 3 generated by the clock-conversion part 21 to the output circuit 28 , which is an example of the data-output part.
  • the high-speed clock signal CLK 3 has a frequency two times or more the frequency of the low-speed clock CLK 2 .
  • it is not limited to an integer multiple, and the other multiple other than an integer multiple may be used. Note that it is preferable to set this to an integer multiple from the point of data connectivity.
  • a frequency switching command P 3 should be automatically switched depending on the operation mode, for example, a still-image sensing mode, an action sensing mode, or additional read-out mode.
  • the frequency of the high-speed clock signal CLK 3 generated by the clock-conversion part 21 should be switched by the communication/timing generation part 20 receiving an instruction of an operation mode from the central control part outside of the device and issuing the frequency switching command P 3 to the clock-conversion part 21 in conjunction with this operation mode.
  • the frequency switching command P 3 issued from the central control part outside of the device for the clock-conversion part 21 is notified independently (directly in reality) from an operation mode, and thus the frequency may be automatically switched by this notification.
  • the communication function with the outside is disposed in the communication/timing generation part 20 , and thus the frequency switching command P 3 is notified to the clock-conversion part 21 through the communication/timing generation part 20 .
  • the structure is not limited to this. The structure may be such that by the clock-conversion part 21 having a communication function with the outside, the clock-conversion part 21 directly communicates with the outside.
  • the clock-conversion part 21 may be disposed in the TG block (not shown in the figure).
  • the clock-conversion part 21 and the wiring lines of the high-speed clock signal CLK 3 therefrom cause noises to occur, and thus it is preferable that the clock-conversion part 21 and the output circuit 28 are individually designed, and are disposed with being adjacent to each other at the output side of the device.
  • the border part of each part should be partitioned nearly a rectangle in shape, and thus both parts should be adjacently disposed, leaving no space between them.
  • the device so as to integrate the clock-conversion part 21 and the output circuit 28 as one block to be disposed at the output side.
  • a k1-multiplication circuit For a multiplication circuit of the clock-conversion part 21 , assuming that k1 is a multiple of the frequency of the low-speed clock CLK 2 , a k1-multiplication circuit should be provided, and thus various known techniques can be used.
  • the known technique of Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2003-8435, Japanese Examined Patent Application Publication No. 3360667, Paragraphs 6 and 7, and as described in FIG. 10 a circuit technique of a PLL frequency synthesizer using a PLL (phase lock loop) can be used.
  • PLL phase lock loop
  • the high-speed clock signal CLK 3 can be phase-locked with the low-speed clock CLK 2 .
  • a known circuit technique described in Japanese Examined Patent Application Publication No. 3366223 can be used.
  • the pixel signal output from the unit pixel 3 is supplied to the column AD circuit of the column processing part 26 for each vertical column through the vertical signal line 19 .
  • the column AD circuit of the column processing part 26 receives the pixel signal for one column, and processes the signal. For example, the column AD circuit performs processing to obtain a difference of the signal level between the pixel signal of the voltage mode input through the vertical signal line 19 and the signal level (noise level) immediately after the pixel reset based on two sampling pulses, a sampling pulse SHP and a sampling pulse SHD which are given from the communication/timing generation part 20 .
  • a noise signal component which is called a fixed pattern noise (FPN) or a reset noise, is eliminated.
  • FPN fixed pattern noise
  • the back stage of the column processing part 26 can be provided with an AGC (auto gain control) circuit having a signal amplification function, etc. as necessary in the same semiconductor area as the column processing part 26 .
  • each column AD circuit has an ADC (analog digital converter) circuit which converts a processed analog signal into 10-bit digital data using, for example, the low-speed clock CLK 2 .
  • the digitized pixel data is transmitted to the horizontal signal line 18 through a horizontal selection switch, which is driven by the horizontal selection signal from the horizontal scanning circuit 12 , not shown in the figure, and further input into the output circuit 28 .
  • 10 bits are one example, and the other number of bits, such as less than 10 bits (for example, 8 bits), or the number of bits exceeding 10 bits (for example, 14 bits) may be used.
  • the AD conversion function is provided for each column circuit to convert the data into the digital data for each vertical column.
  • this AD conversion function can be provided not only in the column circuit portion, but also in the other portion.
  • a structure in which the AD conversion function is individually provided for each pixel of the pixel area (multiple functions are provided) may be used.
  • an analog pixel signal may be output as far as the horizontal signal line 18 , and the AD conversion may be performed thereafter to pass the data to the output circuit 28 .
  • a pixel signal of each vertical column for each row is output in sequence from the pixel area 10 in which light receiving elements as electric charge generation parts are arranged in a matrix.
  • One piece of image corresponding to the pixel area 10 , in which light receiving elements are arranged, that is to say, a frame image is represented by a set of pixel signals of the entire pixel area 10 .
  • pixel data D 0 from the horizontal signal line 18 is buffered using the low-speed clock CLK 2 and the high-speed clock signal CLK 3 supplied from the clock-conversion part 21 , or the clock signal CLK 1 and the other pulse signal P 1 from the communication/timing generation part 20 , and is externally output as video (image pickup) data D 1 .
  • the video data D 1 may be output after performing, for example, black-level adjustment, column difference correction, signal amplification, color relation processing, signal compression processing, and the like.
  • the output circuit 28 fetches pixel data (for example, 10-bit data) from the column processing part 26 as parallel data in synchronism with the low-speed clock CLK 2 . Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 3A , the output circuit 28 converts the data into serial-format data in synchronism with either a rising edge or a falling edge of the high-speed clock signal CLK 3 (a rising edge in the figure).
  • pixel data for example, 10-bit data
  • the output circuit 28 converts the data into serial-format data in synchronism with either a rising edge or a falling edge of the high-speed clock signal CLK 3 (a rising edge in the figure).
  • parallel-serial conversion a known parallel-serial conversion circuit can be used. Also, as described below, the same configuration as that of a switching part 284 can be used.
  • the frequency of the high-speed clock signal CLK 3 is 10 times the frequency of the low-speed clock CLK 2 .
  • the output circuit 28 is preferable to have a high-speed clock signal output function which outputs the high-speed clock signal CLK 3 generated by the clock-conversion part 21 from a terminal other than the data terminal in addition to a function of outputting the video data D 1 from the output terminal 5 c .
  • the bit data of the image pickup data D 0 or the video data D 1 is output from the terminal 5 c in sequence as serial-format data in synchronism with a rising edge, and the high-speed clock signal CLK 3 used at this time is output from the terminal 5 d .
  • the high-speed clock signal CLK 3 is output in consideration of a delay with the video data D 1 .
  • the consideration for a delay means that the data switching position of each bit of the video data D 1 in a serial format is maintained to have a constant relationship with each edge of the high-speed clock signal CLK 3 (for example, to have the same position). This is the same in the following.
  • the clock-conversion part 21 is disposed in the vicinity of the output circuit 28 which performs the parallel-serial conversion function requiring the high-speed clock signal CLK 3 , and the high-speed clock signal CLK 3 is generated in the vicinity of the output circuit 28 .
  • the problem of unnecessary radiation can be subdued. For example, the interference of unnecessary radiation on the video data D 1 to cause noises is reduced.
  • CMOS-sensor type solid-state image sensing apparatus 1 having such a structure, by operating the pixel area and the column circuit at a low frequency and performing parallel-serial conversion thereafter using the high-speed clock signal at the output portion, it is possible to perform high-speed operation with a few terminals at the output portion. Thus an increase in power consumption can be prevented, and noises are reduced. Also, since the input clock signal from the outside to the image pickup device has a low frequency, the loss from the front stage to the CMOS sensor is kept small, and unnecessary radiation can be subdued. Therefore, it is possible to produce a small camera (animation, still image) which is reliable and inexpensive.
  • the 10-bit video data D 1 is serially output at a frame rate of 30 fps (frame/s).
  • a solid-state image sensing apparatus is an analog circuit which is a very accurate and sensitive to a noise of 1 mV or less.
  • the pixels which accept light, maintain the photoelectric transferred electric charge for a certain period of time, and output the charge, must have the uniform characteristics among about 300 thousand pieces in the VGA class, and among millions of pieces in mega pixels in these orders. This accuracy needs to be maintained in the same manner for the column processing part 26 , which has fewer parts, that is, hundreds or thousands of parts, compared with the number of pixels.
  • the pixel area 10 and the column processing part 26 it is necessary for the pixel area 10 and the column processing part 26 to decrease the frequency as much as possible to reduce white noises, and to operate at a low frequency as much as possible to eliminate irregularity of the pulse delay, etc. depending on the places. Furthermore, as desired output image information, images of hundreds of thousands to millions of pixels ⁇ 10 bits must be output at tens to thousands of pieces per second.
  • a PDA personal digital assistant
  • the parts are produced as small as, as inexpensive as, and as reliable as possible.
  • the connection load to the next stage LSI needs to be small.
  • the solid-state image sensing apparatus communicates with the outside in order to switch the output mode and to make a confirmation.
  • this data amount is very little in comparison with the output data.
  • the structure of this embodiment in which a low frequency is received as an input clock, the pixel area 10 and column processing part 26 are operated at a low frequency, and only the output circuit 28 is operated at a high frequency, is very effective.
  • the high-speed clock signal CLK 3 is also output from the terminal (in this embodiment, 5d) other than the data output terminal (in this embodiment, 5c) in consideration of a delay from the video data D 1 , and thus the data receiving side at the outside of the device can fetch the video data D 1 in synchronism with the high-speed clock signal CLK 3 , thereby preventing error.
  • the high-speed clock signal CLK 3 is not used in the portion of handling analog signals, for example, the pixel area 10 and the column processing part 26 .
  • the video data D 1 and the high-speed clock signal CLK 3 can be virtually output from the common terminal.
  • the interface terminal and wiring line can be reduced.
  • boundary data P 2 indicating a delimiter of one pixel data may be output from the terminal 5 e other than each of the terminals 5 c and 5 d of the video data D 1 and the high-speed clock signal CLK 3 as data having a lower frequency than the high-speed clock signal CLK 3 .
  • a clock having the same frequency as the low-speed clock CLK 2 which indicates the start or the end of the 10-bit video data D 1 may be output as the boundary data P 2 .
  • the boundary data P 2 may be generated in any part, for example, in the TG block of the communication/timing generation part 20 , the clock-conversion part 21 , or the signal processing part 282 described below.
  • the duty may be changed to a value other than 50%.
  • FIG. 4 is a circuit block diagram illustrating a variation of a first example structure of the output circuit. In this regard, here, only the vicinity of the output buffer is illustrated. Also, FIG. 5 is a timing chart illustrating the data output method in this variation. This variation has a characteristic structure in which the serial-format output data for n bits and the high-speed clock signal CLK 3 are differentially output from the two output terminals, respectively.
  • the output buffer 286 of the output circuit 28 has a function of differential conversion part which converts the received data into differential-format data including normal video data D 1 P having the same polarity as the video data D 1 and inverted video data D 1 N having the opposite polarity based on the n-bit (in this example, 10 ) video data D 1 , represented in a serial format, generated by the switching part 284 having a function of a parallel-serial conversion part.
  • the output buffer 286 having a function of the differential conversion part has an output terminal 5 c P for externally outputting a normal video data D 1 P and an output terminal 5 c N for externally outputting the inverted video data D 1 N.
  • the output buffer externally outputs differential outputs of the normal video data D 1 P and the inverted video data D 1 N from the corresponding two output terminals 5 c P and 5 c N, respectively.
  • an output buffer 288 other than the output buffer 286 has a function of differential conversion part which converts the received data into differential-format data including a normal high-speed clock signal CLK 3 P having the same polarity as the high-speed clock signal CLK 3 received through the switching part 284 and an inverted high-speed clock signal CLK 3 N having the opposite polarity.
  • the output buffer 288 has an output terminal 5 d P for externally outputting a normal high-speed clock signal CLK 3 P and an output terminal 5 d N for externally outputting the inverted high-speed clock signal CLK 3 N.
  • the output buffer 288 externally outputs the high-speed clock signal CLK 3 input through the switching part 284 in consideration of a delay with the video data D 1 , and the inverted high-speed clock signal CLK 3 N in consideration of a delay with the inverted video data D 1 N from the corresponding two output terminals 5 d P and 5 d N, respectively as differential outputs of the high-speed clock signal CLK 3 and the inverted high-speed clock signal CLK 3 N.
  • each of the differential outputs is output from the terminals (in this example, 5 d P and 5 d N) different from the data output terminals (in this example, 5 c P and 5 c N) in consideration of a delay with the video data D 1 P and D 1 N. It is, therefore, possible to fetch the video data D 1 P and D 1 N for any of the differential outputs in synchronism with the corresponding high-speed clock signal CLK 3 P and CLK 3 N at the data receiving side of the outside of the device, and thus an error can be prevented.
  • FIG. 6 is a circuit block diagram illustrating a second example structure of the output circuit.
  • FIG. 7 is a circuit block diagram illustrating a variation of the output circuit of the second example.
  • FIG. 6 illustrates an application to a differential output
  • FIG. 7 illustrates an application to a single output.
  • FIGS. 8A and 8B are explanatory diagrams for the improvement effects of unnecessary radiation of the output circuit 28 of the second example.
  • the output circuit 28 of the second example shown in FIG. 6 has a characteristic in that the digital signal processing part is contained inside and the differential output is used.
  • the variation of the second example shown in FIG. 7 contains the digital signal processing part inside in common with the second example. However, it is different from the second example in that single output is used. In the following, a specific description will be given.
  • the output circuit 28 of the second example shown in FIG. 6 has a signal processing part 282 , which performs processing on the 10-bit digital data D 0 input from the horizontal signal line 18 , a switching part 284 , and output buffers 286 and 288 .
  • the signal processing part 282 receives the input of predetermined data from the TG block of the communication/timing generation part 20 , and the low-speed clock CLK 2 from the clock-conversion part 21 . Also, the switch part 284 receives the input of the high-speed clock signal CLK 3 from the clock-conversion part 21 .
  • the signal processing part 282 fetches the pixel data D 0 in parallel from 10 horizontal signal lines 18 in synchronism with the low-speed clock CLK 2 . This is the same as the output circuit 28 of the first example.
  • the signal processing part 282 performs black-level adjustment, column difference correction, signal amplification, color relation processing, signal compression processing, and the like on the fetched data D 0 using, for example, the same low-speed clock CLK 2 . Then the signal processing part 282 inputs the processed 10-bit data D 1 for each bit into the different input terminal of the switching part 284 .
  • the switching part 284 includes a multiplexer (multiple-inputs and one-output switch; details are omitted), and parallel-format data from the signal processing part 282 is individually input into each of a plurality of input terminals 284 a of the multiplexer. Any one of each data input into the plurality of input terminals 284 a is selected to be output from the output terminal 248 b .
  • the high-speed clock signal CLK 3 from the clock-conversion part 21 is input into a control terminal 284 c of the multiplexer as a switching command.
  • the switching part 284 having such a structure selects each one bit from 10-bit data input from an individual terminal using the high-speed clock signal CLK 3 as a switching command in accordance with a predetermined sequence to output from the output terminal 248 b .
  • switching part 284 converts the parallel data into serial-format data (in the following, referred to parallel-serial conversion). Then switching part 284 leads the video data D 1 after the parallel-serial conversion to the data output buffer 286 . Also, the switching part 284 leads the high-speed clock signal CLK 3 used at the parallel-serial conversion to the clock output buffer 288 .
  • the output buffers 286 and 288 have a function of the differential conversion part in the same manner as the variation of the first example.
  • the output buffer 286 externally outputs the differential output of the normal video data D 1 P and the inverted video data D 1 N from the corresponding two output terminals 5 c P and 5 c N, respectively.
  • the output buffer 288 outputs the high-speed clock signal CLK 3 in consideration of a delay with the video data D 1 , and the inverted high-speed clock signal CLK 3 N in consideration of a delay with the inverted video data D 1 N as the differential output of the high-speed clock signal CLK 3 and the inverted high-speed clock signal CLK 3 N from the corresponding two output terminals 5 d P and 5 d N, respectively.
  • the 10-bit video data D 1 is serially output at a frame rate of 30 fps (frame/s).
  • the variation of the second example shown in FIG. 7 is different only in the point that the output buffers 286 and 288 are single output, and thus a description of the circuit structure and the operations thereof will be omitted.
  • the output circuit 28 of the second example shown in FIG. 6 special effects due to the differential output can be obtained. That is to say, an abnormal component in the pulse waveform, such as dullness, ringing, etc., is apt to occur with an increase of the speed of the signal. In single output using either one output, the output signal directly undergoes the effects. In contrast, by using differential output, it becomes possible to reproduce the waveform using both differential outputs, and thus noise-withstandingness is improved. This is not limited to the data D 1 , and is the same for the high-speed clock signal CLK 3 . Therefore, the second example, which has employed the differential output, has a structure capable of coping with a higher frequency than the structure of the first example. On the contrary, for a medium-speed frequency, it may be sufficient to use the first example, which has employed the single output.
  • LVDS low voltage differential signaling
  • FIG. 8A when an interface of single output in current mode is employed as the variation of the second example shown in FIG. 7 and in the first example structure, as shown in FIG. 8A , a current goes and comes back (the timing is not simultaneous) between the output circuit 28 at the transmission side and the next-stage circuit and the next-stage IC at the receiving side.
  • an electromagnetic field causing unnecessary radiation occurs, affecting peripheral circuits and the outside of the solid-state image sensing apparatus 1 .
  • FIG. 9 is a circuit block diagram illustrating a third example structure of the output circuit.
  • FIG. 10 is a circuit block diagram illustrating a variation of the output circuit of the third example.
  • FIG. 10 illustrates an application to a differential output
  • FIG. 11 illustrates an application to a single output.
  • FIG. 11 is a timing chart illustrating the data output method in the third example and the variation thereof.
  • the output circuit 28 of the third example shown in FIG. 9 has a characteristic in that the digital signal processing part is contained inside and the differential output is used. Also, in the column processing part 26 , the data of n (n is a positive integer) bits for m columns (m is a positive integer of 2 or more) can be simultaneously output.
  • the variation of the third example shown in FIG. 10 contains the digital signal processing part inside, the differential output is used, and the data for m column in the column processing part 26 can be simultaneously output in common with the third example.
  • the pixel data D 0 of 40 bits in total is signal processed in the signal processing part 282 , and four pieces of 10-bit data is input into the switching part 284 .
  • the switching part 284 includes a multiplexer, which is not shown in the figure.
  • the switching part 284 converts m pieces of data into serial-format data (in the following, also referred to as a parallel-serial conversion) for the first to the ninth bit using high-speed clock signal CLK 4 having a frequency m times the frequency of the low-speed clock CLK 2 .
  • the switching part 284 of the output circuit 28 converts each bistable circuit of the four pieces of data into serial-format data in synchronism with either a rising edge or a falling edge of the high-speed clock signal CLK 4 (a rising edge in the figure).
  • the switching part 284 leads the D 1 after the parallel-serial conversion, for each the first to the ninth bit to individual data-output buffers 286 - 0 to 286 - 9 .
  • the switching part 284 leads the high-speed clock signal CLK 4 used at the parallel-serial conversion to the clock output buffer 288 .
  • the output buffers 286 - 0 to 286 - 9 outputs the differential output of the video data D 1 and the inverted video data D 1 N from the corresponding two output terminals 5 c P and 5 c N based on each bit of input pixel data D 1 .
  • the output buffer 288 other than the output buffer 286 , outputs the high-speed clock signal CLK 4 and the inverted high-speed clock signal CLK 4 N in consideration of a delay, based on the input high-speed clock signal CLK 4 , from the corresponding two output terminals 5 d P and 5 d N.
  • the variation of the third example shown in FIG. 10 is different only in the point that the output buffers 286 - 0 to 286 - 9 and 288 are single output, and thus a description of the circuit structure and the operation thereof will be omitted.
  • the signal processing part 282 which receives data corresponding to a plurality of pixels first, processes a plurality of pixels (four pixels in the example) in parallel using the low-speed clock CLK 2 .
  • the switching part 284 selects, in sequence, each signal corresponding to one pixel on the data output from the signal processing part 282 using the high-speed clock signal CLK 4 having a frequency m times the frequency of the low-speed clock CLK 2 , and outputs at a high speed.
  • the parallel-serial conversion part which causes the output data to become high speed, can be disposed in the nearest vicinity of the data output (in the preceding example, the switching part 284 or the output buffers 286 - 0 to 286 - 9 , and 288 ). Accordingly, in the third example and the variation thereof, the same effects as in the structure of the first and second examples can be obtained.
  • FIG. 12 and FIG. 13 are circuit block diagrams illustrating a combination example structure of the example structures of the second and third output circuits.
  • two stages of the switching parts 284 a and 284 b are provided for the portion of converting into serial-format data.
  • each role is different in FIG. 12 and in FIG. 13 .
  • the structure of differential output is employed both in FIG. 12 and FIG. 13 in the same manner as the second and third examples.
  • single output may be employed in the same manner as the variations of the second and third examples. In the following, a specific description will be given.
  • the example of FIG. 12 has a characteristic in that, in the same manner as the third example, first, m-column data is converted into serial-format data for each bit using the high-speed clock signal CLK 4 in the switching part 284 a , thereafter the second example structure is applied using the high-speed clock signal CLK 5 in the switching part 284 b , and this n-bit parallel data is further converted to serial-format data.
  • the example of FIG. 13 has a characteristic in that, in the same manner as the third example, first, the second example is applied, the parallel data of n bits for each m columns in the column processing part 26 is converted into serial-format data using the high-speed clock signal CLK 3 in the switching part 284 a , then the third example is applied using the high-speed clock signal CLK 6 in the switching part 284 b , and m-column data is further converted into serial-format data.
  • the output circuit 28 has a structure to handle m vertical columns of data together, by converting the original parallel data into serial-format data for all m pieces, it is possible to reduce more data-output terminals than the third example and the variation thereof.
  • the parallel-serial conversion part which causes the output data to become a high speed, can be disposed in the nearest vicinity of the data output (in the preceding example, switching part 284 and output buffers 286 - 0 to 286 - 9 , and 288 ). By doing this, the same effects as in the structure of the first to third examples can be obtained.
  • FIGS. 14A and 14B are circuit block diagrams illustrating fourth example structures of the output circuit 28 .
  • FIG. 14A illustrates an application to a differential output
  • FIG. 14B illustrates an application to a single output.
  • the fourth examples are produced by adding some change to the signal processing part 282 of the second example. In this regard, the same change can be added to the signal processing part 282 of the third example.
  • the digital signal processing is performed using low-speed clock CLK 2 .
  • the output circuit 28 of the fourth example is different in that the signal processing is performed using a clock signal having a higher frequency which is higher than two times or more the frequency of the low-speed clock CLK 2 and lower than one-half the frequency of the high-speed clock signal CLK 3 (Not limited to one. In the following, referred to as a medium-speed clock signal CLK 7 together).
  • the signal processing part 282 may include a functional portion for performing a predetermined processing using not only the medium-speed clock signal CLK 7 , but also low-speed clock signal CLK 2 .
  • this medium-speed clock signal CLK 7 is a signal having a frequency two times the frequency of the low-speed clock signal CLK 2 , and is one example of the high-speed clock signal of the present invention.
  • the medium-speed clock signal CLK 7 should be generated by the clock-conversion part 21 . That is to say, the clock-conversion part 21 is determined to generate a clock signal having a plurality of different frequencies higher than the low-speed clock CLK 2 (in this example, CLK 3 and CLK 5 ).
  • the clock-conversion part 21 is determined to generate a clock signal having a plurality of different frequencies higher than the low-speed clock CLK 2 (in this example, CLK 3 and CLK 5 ).
  • schemes of multiplication circuit by various known circuits can be used in the same manner as in the case of generating one high-speed clock signal CLK 3 .
  • k1 and k2 are multiples of the low-speed clock CLK 2
  • a k1-multiplication circuit and k2-multiplication circuit should be provided.
  • a description of the specific schemes thereof is omitted.
  • the signal processing contents using the low-speed clock CLK 2 in the signal processing part 282 includes processing for performing simple addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division for each one pixel signal, for example, digital gain control, vertical line correction, etc.
  • the signal processing contents using the medium-speed clock CLK 7 includes processing which requires multiple calculations with referring to a plurality of pixel signals, for example, color relation processing, compression processing, etc.
  • signal processing part 282 in the solid-state image sensing device fetches the signal of the medium-speed clock CLK 7 in the range of processing target, which is not inconvenient for using the medium-speed clock CLK 7 having one-half or less the frequency of the high-speed clock signal CLK 3 instead of the high-speed clock signal CLK 3 .
  • the signal processing part 282 other than the final circuit portion (in this example, output buffers 286 and 288 ) from which data is output, high-speed clock signal CLK 3 (in this example, the medium-speed clock CLK 7 ) having higher frequency than that of the low-speed clock CLK 2 is used.
  • the frequency of the signal is limited to the range of the medium-speed clock CLK 7 having a lower frequency than the high-speed clock signal CLK 3 .
  • FIG. 15 is a circuit block diagram illustrating a fifth example structure of the output circuit. In this regard, here, only the vicinity of the output buffer of the differential output is shown. Also, FIG. 16 is a circuit block diagram illustrating an example structure of the strobe-signal generation part used in the fifth example. In this regard, here, one of the differential output is shown. Also, FIG. 17 is a timing chart illustrating the data output method in the fifth example.
  • the fifth example has a characteristic in that a strobe data STB capable of reproducing the clock is output by performing an exclusive-OR operation between the clock and the serial-format n-bit output data.
  • This strobe data strobe data STB is assumed to be used in place of the high-speed clock signal CLK 3 . That is to say, the strobe data STB is output from the terminal 5 d .
  • the strobe data STB is assumed to be a signal inverted at the timing when the video data D 1 is not inverted.
  • the strobe data STB is generated by the signal processing part 282 or the switching part 284 in front of the output buffer 290 .
  • This signal is externally output through the output buffer 290 in the same manner as the output buffer 286 .
  • a circuit structure as shown in FIG. 16 should be used as an example of the case of providing a strobe-signal generation part after the signal is serialized.
  • parallel-serial converted data is one-clock delayed by the high-speed clock signal CLK 3 in a D flip-flop 312 , an exclusive-OR operation is performed in an exclusive-OR operation circuit (NXOR) 314 , then this signal is input into a T flip-flop 316 , and thus the strobe data STB is generated.
  • NXOR exclusive-OR operation circuit
  • the D flip-flop 312 and the T flip-flop 316 (in synchronism with a falling edge) prevent an error by using the edge of the high-speed clock signal CLK 3 as shown in the figure. Therefore, a half-clock delay is adjusted by passing the serial data through the D flip-flop 306 (in synchronism with a falling edge).
  • this serial data and the strobe data STB are adjusted to have the same phase by passing these signals through the D flip-flops 308 (in synchronism with a rising edge) and 318 (in synchronism with a falling edge), which are operating by different edges, respectively.
  • Each of normal data DIP and STBP output from the normal terminal Q of the D flip-flops 308 and 318 , respectively is externally output from the normal terminals 5 c P and 5 d P through the output buffers 286 and 290 , respectively.
  • each of normal data DIN and STBN output from the inverted terminal QN of the D flip-flops 308 and 318 respectively is externally-output from the inverted terminals 5 c N and 5 d N through the output buffers 286 and 290 , respectively.
  • the strobe data STB when the strobe data STB is used, either the video data D 1 P or strobe data STBP is inverted, and either the video data DIN or strobe data STBN is inverted, respectively.
  • the load imposed on the device output at each clock timing is for a half, and is constant. Also, by performing an exclusive-OR operation between the strobe data STB and the video data D 1 , the high-speed clock signal CLK 3 can be reproduced by a circuit block disposed at the back stage of the output circuit 28 or the next stage IC.
  • FIG. 18 is a circuit block diagram illustrating a sixth example structure of the output circuit. In this regard, here, only the vicinity of the output buffer of the single output is shown. Also, FIG. 19 is a timing chart illustrating the data output method in the sixth example.
  • the sixth example has a characteristic in that the frequency of the high-speed clock signal is sufficiently obtained for the output of the pixel data, and the other information is output by the surplus.
  • the high-speed clock signal CLK 3 having a frequency the number-of-bit times the frequency of the low-speed clock CLK 2 is used in order to convert the parallel data into serial-format data in the same time period as one cycle of the low-speed clock CLK 2 , by which the signal processing part 282 fetches the pixel data represented by 10 bits/parallel.
  • the boundary data P 2 output by the output buffer 292 is assigned for each one unit (in this example, 16 bits) of the video data D 1 .
  • the duty thereof may be set to 50%, and may be virtually the data having the opposite polarity to the low-speed clock CLK 2 .
  • the duty thereof may be changed to a value other than 50% as shown in FIG. 3C .
  • the desired data to be assigned to the additional data portion obtained for 6 bits includes data P 4 indicating a start and an end of a line (That is to say, the data indicating a change of lines), or data P 5 indicating a start and an end of a frame (That is to say, the data indicating a change of frames).
  • the switching part 284 obtains not only the bit data of the video data D 1 from the signal processing part 282 , but also the data P 4 and P 5 . Then the switching part 284 converts one-pixel bit data and the data P 4 and P 5 together into the serial-format data using the high-speed clock signal CLK 8 , and thus the data P 4 and P 5 is embedded into the pixel data as additional data.
  • a start of a line and a start of a frame are input from the outside of the solid-state image sensing apparatus, and the signals of the solid-state image sensing apparatus are output in synchronism with them.
  • obtaining this synchronization is difficult, because the frequency of the output data is high.
  • the number of terminals increases.
  • the output can be at the same terminal, and thus the number of terminals will not be increased.
  • the solid-state image sensing apparatus 1 is for color-image sensing as in the present embodiment
  • color-filter arrangement is different depending on an even-numbered column and an odd-numbered column.
  • the assignment of identification information of indicating to which the color separation filter (color component) the pixel signal corresponds is considered.
  • thinning-out reading it may be used to assign the information indicating how many pixels the thinning-out operation skips, or whether with or without additions.
  • the boundary data P 2 is also output.
  • the boundary data P 2 may not be used.
  • each data is in synchronism with a falling edge of the high-speed clock signal CLK 8 .
  • CLK 8 clock signal
  • it may be in synchronism with a rising edge.
  • an example is shown in the case of applying to a single output method.
  • it can cope with differential output by varying the structure of using both the normal and the inverted signals as in the variation of the first example and the other structure examples.
  • a solid-state image sensing apparatus may be a solid-state image sensing apparatus formed as one chip, or may be a modular type solid-state image sensing apparatus formed as a collection of a plurality of chips.
  • the apparatus may be formed separately by a sensor chip for picking up images, a signal processing chip for performing digital signal processing, etc., and further include an optical system.
  • the present invention when applied to a camera, it becomes possible to keep the power consumption of the entire camera low, and to obtain excellent image quality.
  • the above-described embodiments are not limiting the invention set forth in the appended claims. Also, all of the combinations of the characteristics described in the embodiments are not necessarily required for the solving means of the invention.
  • the above-described embodiments include various stages of invention, and various inventions can be extracted from appropriate combinations of a plurality of the components disclosed. If some components are deleted from all the components shown in an embodiment, as far as an effect is obtained, the structure without these components can be extracted as an invention.
  • the structure, in which the clock-conversion part 21 is disposed in the nearest vicinity (in the preceding example, output circuit 28 ) of the portion (that is to say, a circuit portion using the high-speed clock signal) of the image sensing device from which high-speed data is output, is shown.
  • the clock-conversion part 21 can be disposed at another place when noises and unnecessary radiation are not considered.
  • the output data based on the pixel data is externally output, it is allowed to output the data from the terminals which are fewer than the number of bits of the AD-converted digital data.
  • a part of one pixel data may be converted to serial-format data, for example, converting two bits of the s-th bit and the (2s ⁇ 1)-th bit.
  • the use of the high-speed clock signal is not limited to data serialization.
  • the high-speed clock signal can be used for movement extraction which requires multiple high-speed calculations and compression processing.
  • CMOS sensor including an pixel area, which generates signal electric charge by receiving light
  • the generation of signal electric charge is not limited to light, and can be applicable to electromagnetic waves in general, for example, infrared light, ultraviolet light, or X-rays.
  • the above-described embodiments can be applicable to an image sensing apparatus including a pixel area having an array of a large number of pixels which receives the electromagnetic waves, and outputs analog signals in accordance with the amount thereof.

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